The first Permaculture and Practice event was a success! Our first of nine workshops centered around permaculture concepts began with an event on learning how to install a rainwater barrel to water the community garden at the Boulder Circus Center. We started off the day with a Permaculture 101 discussion led by Avery Ellis of Boulder Permaculture. We discussed concepts such as Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share and started to learn more about each other. By discussing the ethics we are going to follow throughout the day, we started to form a tighter connection with each other, ultimately creating a solid foundation for the work we were about to put in. After we explored some permaculture philosophies, we got to play around at an acro-yoga workshop with Jeff Paley and Trevor Dye, with music played by the amazing Godlazer. Partnering with each other in an environment where trust is the key factor helped us to continue to build up our connections and understanding of one another before we headed to the main event. Once our bodies were stretched out and our bellies full of hemp bars provided by the local and wonderful Evo Hemp, we headed outside to start building the rainwater barrel collector. We painted the sides of the barrel with phrases like "water is life", collaborating with different colors and designs. After that we set the barrel on a large platform, leveled it out and hooked in tubes that ran from the gutter to collect the water. It took about an hour to complete and after all was said and done we walked over to the garden the barrel would be watering. Coming together and getting to know each other was key in completing this project - without forming these simple connections, would we have been able to trust one another with completing a project of this scale? Our foundation in community was just as important as the foundation for the barrel - it needed to be level and strong. We are so grateful for all those who participated in this awesome project, and even more grateful for the connections made to each other and to nature! We have eight more awesome events planned in this series that runs until October. Hope to see you there! <3